10 Ways to Earn Extra Income

I have always had more than one job. Many times this was so I could pay all my bills, have a savings account, or have money to do fun things. Two years ago I read a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad and it inspired me to look for alternative ways of making income. It took me about a year to act upon this inspiration, but once I did, I started finding a lot of ways that had the potential to earn me extra money. I am going to share with you 10 things I am currently doing to earn extra money. If you are motivated and willing to put in the time, you could possibly make money from doing these things as well.

Blogging

I started this blog almost a month ago and I am loving every minute of it. I won’t lie it’s a lot of work and requires your commitment. If you would like to start a blog of your own, I created a tutorial on how to do so using BlueHost. My blog has already started to generate income for me! Now it will take some time for my blog to begin making a decent amount of income, but I am here for the long haul. If you are too, check out my How to Start a blog post to get you started!

Surveys

I actually joined American Consumer Opinion, Swagbucks, and Inbox Dollars when I first started looking for ways to earn some extra income. I am currently completing surveys on three other sites, but I haven’t used them enough to feel comfortable promoting them yet so for now I will share the three I listed above.

I personally checked these three sites out as they were recommended by another blogger. I have had a great experience with all three of these sites so far, and have even requested my first payment with American Consumer Opinion.

Keep in mind for any survey site, that this is not something you can get rich from immediately. You will need to invest the time to make money from doing this. Personally, my goal is to make $20.00 each month from completing surveys based on the time I have available. I know a lot of people who make a lot more than this, so set your goal once you see how the process works.

American Consumer Opinion
This is my favorite survey site and I’ve already cashed out a payment of $10.15! They will email you reminders of surveys that you could qualify for, and they also offer an incentive for surveys that you may not meet. For every survey you are found to not qualify for, you will get 5 points, and for each survey you are able to complete you get a much larger amount of points (the lowest I’ve gotten was $2.00 and the highest I’ve seen is $10.00). This site allows you to request payment once you have reached 1000 points or $10.00.

This is probably the most popular survey site on the internet. You can earn points that can then be used to redeem gift cards in a variety of ways such as surveys, games, watching videos, completing daily tasks, shopping online, browsing the internet, and more. Keep in mind, they have a lot of surveys, but you have to catch them at the right time. This site has the most options on how to earn points.

Here is what I really enjoy about Inbox Dollars. You get points for a large variety of fairly easy things: promotional emails, web searches, surveys, and games. The promotional emails each earn you $.02, and everything is based on what you do and how long it takes you really. To earn money through Inbox Dollars you can only request payment once you have earned $30 dollars. So, if you decide to join I would recommend signing up through my referral link as that will start you off with $5.

Mystery Shopping

I became a mystery shopper hoping to score some dining or shopping deals. However, this is not always the case in my area. I have made $30 so far from the various shops I have done, but they have all been automotive related shops. My best suggestion if you decide to do this, would be to check the site regularly and to do the auto shops if able. My understanding is, that once you become a trusted mystery shopper, you get access to additional shopping deals before other users.

Apps

I absolutely love using apps to make money for things I am already doing. There are 2 that I highly recommend and that I use all the time: Ibotta and Shopkick.

Ibotta

Ibotta is an app that you can use to earn additional money from the things you are already purchasing. They usually aren’t brand specific and is kind of like cash back where you earn money when you purchase certain items. Definitely check this out!

Shopkick

This is one of the top ways I earn money very quickly. This is an app that allows you to earn points (called kicks) that you can redeem for gift cards to various stores or even gifts (although the gifts seem to cost a lot of kicks so I typically stick with the gift cards). You can earn kicks by having the app open when you walk into a store, for scanning various items as you walk through a store, and for certain purchases you make. This app became a top hit for me when it allowed me to earn 1 point for every $2 spent at my local grocery store. Now I make extra money just from doing tasks I already do and I love it. I personally have already earned $50 in gift cards and recommend this to everyone! If you are interested in joining Shopkick, please use my link:

Contests

I have started to enter various contests to try and earn some extra income. Now, contests are not a guaranteed form of income and can sometimes provide rewards other than money such as gifts or trips. If this sounds interesting to you, here are some contests I participate in to help give you some ideas. Keep in mind, some of these are still ongoing so I have not won anything from them yet, but I still find them fun to do and they don’t take up too much of my time so I don’t view it as a waste of time, especially if I win something in the future.

Monopoly

I’m sure we have all heard about the monopoly games fast food restaurants use to entice customers to eat at their particular establishment. While I don’t eat fast food but maybe once a month, my husband will eat fast food 1-2 times a week and enjoys participating in these events when able. While we haven’t won money from this game, we have won 3 or 4 food items so that helps keep our food budget a few dollars lower.

Our grocery store is also participating in a monopoly style game right now which I am enjoying. I get game pieces every time I go in the grocery store, 1 piece for every $5 I spend, and 1 piece when I purchase items that have a bonus sticker on them. I haven’t won any money from this yet, but I have won coupons and some free crackers, so in my book that’s a win.

Writing

I have always been interested in writing and have been looking for ways to make an income from doing that on the side. It’s kind of funny what opportunities will land in your lap as soon as you are open to finding them. A friend of mine on Facebook, posted about a writing contest, a literary magazine he works for is having. Now, the deadline hasn’t passed yet, but if my piece gets selected I will be paid $25.00 and have my piece published. I am definitely focusing on entering this contest, getting my name out there, and hopefully winning some extra income in the process.

Design Contests

I am a very open minded person and have been looking for additional opportunities for the past couple of months. A year ago, I came upon a contest for designing toys. This is such an off the wall idea for me that of course I was interested. Now, I had missed the deadline for last year, but I plan on entering the contest this upcoming year as winning this contest could provide a substantial source of passive income from a product I helped create! Plus I would win a substantial prize up front! How cool is that?

Radio Contests

I don’t listen to the radio very often as I enjoy listening to audio books as I sit in traffic each morning and afternoon. However, when I do listen to the radio there is more often than not some sort of giveaway happening if you are a specific caller. Well, I participate in such contests for the chance to win some extra cash, a trip, or concert tickets. Why not right? One station I listened to even had a secret sound contest with a cash prize that would grow every time a caller guessed the sound incorrectly. That was really fun and I even convinced my dad to join in on the fun for this one.

Feedback Surveys

We have all probably seen the feedback surveys on our dining or shopping receipts, but how many of us actually complete them! Let me tell you, I do! Many times you will be given something free in return for completing these surveys and they typically only take a few minutes to fill out. The trick with these is not losing your receipt, and not spending money you wouldn’t already be spending. An example of this would be, if you completed a feedback survey that offers you a free stack of pancakes on your next visit. Obviously, this requires you to return to the establishment within a certain time period. Unless, this is in your budget, do not do this. This is a great tool for restaurants and retail stores, but just be sure to use it wisely and in a manner that works for you.

Selling Items

This is a really easy way to earn some extra income, especially if you find yourself needing to do some spring cleaning. Items you can sell include your clothes, books, electronics, basically anything. Ways you can sell these items include Plato’s Closet, Ebay, Amazon, and yard sales. I personally sell clothes and books right now, but I am looking into additional opportunities. Fun fact: I used to own my own thrift store, which I shared with a business partner. We sold items we found elsewhere and I loved it. We decided to close the business when the people we rented our building from were seen participating in illegal activities on the property. (That’s just not my scene, and I try to cut anxiety out of my life anyways).

Offering your Services

If you are good at something find a way to make extra income from it. I am currently developing ideas for items I can make and sell on Etsy. I have been talking about doing this forever, but now I am finally going to do it. I will focus on wedding related items because I love weddings and Etsy is where I bought many items used in our wedding. However, you can do whatever you are good at such as teaching a course, writing an EBook, mowing lawns, really anything. You can offer your services through sites such as thumbtack.

Direct Sales or Network Marketing

I have experience with a network marketing business, but decided it wasn’t the right business for me. However, I really believe in the power of network marketing or direct sales and encourage anyone to keep this type of work as an option. I have been searching for a business that I could 100% support and believe in ever since this time. I found that through a company that offers assistance with debt management, preparing for retirement, and investing for your financial future. For privacy reasons, I will not share any additional details about this business with you, but I will keep you posted on my success with this business.

Creating a product

One of my goals in the near future is to publish an e-book. I haven’t started working on this yet, but I am in the idea formulation stage so I think this definitely counts as things I am doing to earn extra income. This one may just take longer. I think my first e-book will be more for enjoyment than for personal development, but I definitely plan on writing a great many things in the future. I hope to also offer some sort of online webinar or course where I can help educate and inspire.

All of these are great ideas to help you get started in learning how you can earn extra income. I have many more ideas that I am going to be working on in the future. How are you trying to earn extra income? Share below!